Hunting game by means of a bow and arrow is a sport which requires considerable skill in bow handling. The bow hunter is required to move within very short distances of the game in order to be within an effective range.
Hunting arrows are relatively expensive items, and therefore a hunter makes every effort to retrieve each arrow which is shot during the course of hunting. It can be seen that an arrow may be easily lost, particularly if it misses the target and falls in dense brush or the like. If the hunter misses the target on the first shot, it must be decided whether to follow the game, or to look for the arrow, and hope for another shot later on. Because of the cost of the arrows, the decision is not always an easy one.
There are also occasions when the arrow is embedded in the game without an immediate kill and the animal flees the area. In areas of dense foliage, it is often difficult to track the wounded game, and on many occasions the wounded game may completely escape with the arrow. Thus, a means to reliably track the arrow has long been desired.
Various attempts have been made in the prior art to overcome such problems. One specific attempt to overcome such problems was through the provision of a hunting arrow with a radio transmitter locating means, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,790,948 to Ratkovich. While the Ratkovich hunting arrow overcomes the general problem of locating a lost arrow, it suffers several technical deficiencies. One problem is in the use of a manual switch to activate and deactivate the transmitter. Ratkovich does not provide a reliable power switch which will disable the transmitter circuit. Thus, the transmitter may operate from the battery power for long periods of time before the hunter is able to disconnect the circuit. Such long periods of use affect the reliability of the batteries and the operation of the transmitter.
It is further noted that the Ratkovich arrow requires a special arrowhead to house the transmitter. Such an arrowhead is not an industry standard and thus could not be replaced with other standard arrowheads in the industry if the Ratkovich arrowhead were to be damaged. Ratkovich also requires a special arrow shaft for mounting on the arrowhead, which, therefore, suffers the same problems as the arrowhead.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,319, to Murphy, an arrow is disclosed which includes a device on the nock of the arrow which produces an audible signal. Because the tail end of the arrow is frequently broken as the animal runs through the woods, the nock containing the device for producing the audible signal would not remain with the wounded animal if the arrow was broken. If the arrow was not broken, it is possible that the audible signal could frighten the wounded animal so that it runs abnormally long distances. Thus, the animal could run out of the range at which the hunter could hear the audible device, decreasing the chances of recovering the arrow and animal.
A special arrow is provided is U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,612 to Boy et al. which utilizes the metal parts of the arrowhead to form a primary antenna to emit a radio frequency signal. The device utilizes an electronic latch circuit which is triggered by an inertia switch to provide the transmitter with electrical power upon shooting the arrow. This system requires that the arrow be shot at a specific minimum velocity in order to trigger the transmitter, and further requires the use of a magnet to deactivate the transmitter upon recovery of the arrow. The use of an electronic latch circuit merely provides more electronic parts which increases the expense and the necessary maintenance and repair of the arrow. Because the system of the Boy patent utilizes the entire shaft and broadhead of the arrow, it is necessary to purchase the entire arrow with the transmitter and thereby render all other arrows in the hunter's arsenal obsolete.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No, 4,749,198 to Brailea discloses an arrow with a radio transmitter therein. The Brailean arrow suffers the same problem as Boy et al with respect to the expense of purchasing arrows. Brailean specifically calls for an antenna which .is coextensive with the shaft, thereby requiring the hunter to purchase an entire arrow in order to utilize the benefits of the Brailean invention.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide a transmitter attachment for a hunting arrow.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an arrow with a radio transmitter which is electronically activated once the arrow hits the target or the ground.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an arrow with a radio transmitter which is simple to operate and refined in appearance.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.